Dad always gets annoyed when people pronounce it's Spring on the 1st of September. It's not, it's still winter until the equinox but you can't correct someone on TV because they can't hear you. I would suggest not watching TV and being subjected to listen to other peoples opinions and bad news that they say is fact just because they are sitting behind a newsdesk, but old habits seem to die hard. If I were charge of the house, I would dump the TV and have some plants in that corner of the living room. It would be perfect for a peace lily. I could even put books there. And at 6'clock I would have peace and quiet instead of hearing how many people killed each other today or, when nobody has died and they are desperate for more bad news - so they report on the anniversary of so and so's death.
Anyway on the subject of spring, of which it will soon be - I have been adding new plants to my perk up my sad borders. I snagged a whole lot of silver speared astelias from a massive one that pupped and they have gone in, I have cleared out the creeping buttercup and old pots and made a French lavender hedge, I have moved the budding snowball tree to a damper spot, and I have coralled the lime green bromeliads into the shady border.
I was a bit done in yesterday by being roped into contributing to a community show garden for the NZ Flower & Garden show held at the Trust Stadium this November. Apparently it has to look all nice and have a theme and a concept and what-not while including breast cancer pink colours of which I am not that keen on, since I've just had a molemap done and one mole looked kind of abnormal to the molemapper so wouldn't it be better to promote shady gardens so I don't die of melanoma one day. I mean not saying that breast cancer research isn't a worthy cause but it only affects half the population and it's not directly related to gardening is it. I don't know if I will have time to create a show garden given that, community gardens are not for show they are for people and the best time to really exhibit them is in autumn when we are harvesting all the produce and can give people free chokos (of which I am now banned from growing).
So I might just say well, I'm too busy for that, if people want to see a garden for free they can just come found my place and then walk to Woodside. I don't know, the whole idea of doing a garden to transport and show for 7 days in a crowded marquee on top of all the gardens I am already doing is not really appealing to me. It's kind of like American Idol or Top Model or Top Chef or any of those high intensity 'reality' programs that judge people all the time and I'm thinking I don't need the recognition. Am I gardening for a judge I don't know from squat and looking to please men or am I looking for a higher reward?
